Virginia Kaaren Hansen Dickerson

Virginia Kaaren Skov-Hansen was born September 15, 1920 in Vernon County, MO to parents Elise V. Jones born 1896, of Ritchie County WV, and Hans Peter Skov-Hansen born October 13, 1889, who had arrived in the United States at Galveston, TX on the "Frankfurt" on January 11, 1911 from Denmark. With brothers Holger, Arthur, and Richard and sisters Elsie and Frances the Hansen family settled in the Los Angeles, CA area in the late 1920's. Her father operated a wholesale bakery. Living along the coast and in Long Beach, CA, Mrs. Dickerson learned to surf in the 1930's. She attended two years of college before the start of WWII. She married Willis A. Richardson, one of 12 children of Alford Duckery Richardson from Randolph County, NC and Mishie Moore.

Mrs. Dickerson and Willis lived for several years in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California operating a general store and gas station as well as the rural Post Office. They later moved to the Los Angeles basin where their children, Barbara R. Richardson and William Richardson, were born. Virginia worked for the City of Fullerton, CA in the 1960s. Mrs. Dickerson was re-married in 1971 to Philemon Dickerson and relocated to Phoenix, AZ. There, Mrs. Dickerson worked for ADARA, an organization established in the mid-1960's dedicated to enhancing the lives of the deaf. She operated the TTY machines and learned sign language. After Philemon died, she relocated to Walnut Creek, CA and later to Kingsport to be near her daughter. While in Kingsport, she taught reading to adult students.

She is survived by her children, Dr. Barbara Richardson-Cox and husband David J. Cox of Kingsport, and William Richardson, of Kalama, WA; and her grandchildren, Brian R. Cox and Keldon H. Cox, both of San Francisco, CA, Jason Richardson of Colorado, and Renee Richardson of Arizona.

A memorial service for Virginia K. Dickerson will be held at 6:00 p.m. Friday, May 15th at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 800 Broad Street, in Kingsport.